by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, April 20.
- New giga-scale contender emerges in race to export solar to Singapore
- Climate change fueled extreme rainfall during the record 2020 hurricane reason
- Shanghai allows 4 million out of homes as virus rules ease
- It’s planting season in Ukraine, and that means problems for global food supply
- Mariupol, in Ruins, Still Looms Large for Russia and Ukraine
- We have hours left, help us – Mariupol marine commander (“Maj Serhiy Volyna said his troops would not surrender, but he pleaded for international assistance for the 500 wounded soldiers and hundreds of women and children he said were hiding with them at the steel plant.”)
- The Race to Arm Ukraine With Advanced Weapons Brings a Notable Risk (“The U.S. and its allies are sending longer-range weapons like howitzers and antiaircraft systems. Russia has said that such actions could ignite a wider war.”)
- Ukraine’s Allies Race to Deliver More Advanced Weapons (“Effort Comes as Russian Forces Embark on New Phase of War”)
- Ukraine: Troops and civilians ‘completely surrounded’ at steel plant
- An abandoned Russian military camp in a forest near Kyiv reveals horrors of the invasion
- Ukraine hopes to evacuate 6,000 women, children and elderly from Mariupol
- The U.S. Races to Arm Ukraine With Heavier, More Advanced Weaponry
- US prepping another $800 million weapons package for Ukraine, multiple sources say
- Surrounded by Russians, commander describes life inside Mariupol plant
- In battle for Ukraine’s east, front-line soldiers defend against Russia
- UN: Over 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian invasion began
- The Christian nationalism behind Putin’s war
- Kremlin Insiders Alarmed Over Growing Toll of Putin’s War in Ukraine
- Wimbledon 2022: Russian & Belarusian players banned from tournament
- China looks to learn from Russian failures in Ukraine
- How U.S.-Saudi Relations Reached the Breaking Point (All the more reason for us to get off of oil ASAP!)
- Finnish Lawmakers Begin NATO Debate as Nordics Weigh Russia Risk
- Macron, Le Pen square off for decisive debate as vote looms
- Mainstream Politics Is Withering. Just Ask the French. (“The French presidential election underscores how populist forces are rising across the West as the political center struggles to reinvent itself.”)
- Marine Le Pen Is as Dangerous as Ever
- China Says it Will Keep Boosting Strategic Ties With Russia (Disgusting.)
- To fight climate change, and now Russia, too, Zurich turns off natural gas
- G20 delegates to stage protests against Russia over Ukraine war (“Meeting of finance ministers in Washington set to be overshadowed by coordinated walkouts”)
- Julian Assange extradition order issued by London court, moving WikiLeaks founder closer to US transfer
- Trump Sees Very Fine People on Both Sides of Ukraine War
- Biden says Americans should decide for themselves if they want to wear masks on public transportation.
- Justice Dept. to appeal decision lifting mask mandate on planes, trains if CDC deems rule necessary
- The judge who tossed mask mandate misunderstood public health law, legal experts say
- Mask ruling shows Trump’s toxic judicial legacy is poisoning America (“The bench is stocked with Trump hacks making policy, and will be for a long time.”)
- Another activist Trump judge strikes, this time at the mask mandate
- The Trump judge’s opinion striking down the airplane mask mandate is a legal disaster
- Who is Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, the judge who blocked Biden’s travel mask mandate? (“A member of the Federalist Society, Mizelle, then 33, was nominated by Trump in early September 2020, in a confirmation without any support by Senate Democrats, who were in the minority at the time.”)
- Judge’s ‘textualist’ ruling on airline mask mandate sparks backlash (She’s a right-wing extremist who has absolutely ZERO business being a federal judge. Disgraceful.)
- Scoop: Biden considers delaying Title 42 repeal
- Biden’s urgent moves on gas prices collide with lofty climate goals
- Proposed California EV regs could be adopted by other states
- Biden Restores Climate to Landmark Environmental Law, Reversing Trump (“A new rule requires agencies to analyze the climate impacts of proposed highways, pipelines and other projects, and gives local communities more input.”)
- Redlined Neighborhoods in Cities Across the US Saw More Oil Drilling, Study Finds
- Biden launches $6bn effort to save America’s distressed nuclear plants (“Officials say nuclear energy remains vital as carbon-free source of power to help tackle the climate crisis”)
- A conservative insider’s stark warning about Trump and 2024
- The media still haven’t learned how to cover the GOP threat to democracy
- Team Trump Is Simultaneously Trying to Reverse the 2020 Election and Lay the Groundwork to Steal the Next One
- Defeat Has Not Defanged Trump — or Trumpism
- January 6 ‘was a coup organized by the president’, says Jamie Raskin (“Member of House Capitol attack panel says hearings will focus on Trump’s bid to cling to power”)
- Broadcast news networks ignore texts between Mark Meadows and Republican lawmakers urging the Trump chief of staff to overturn 2020 election results (“Only 2 of the top 5 U.S. newspapers covered the revelations in their print editions” That’s really incredible. MASSIVE failure of U.S. journalism.)
- Democrats embrace Rick Scott as midterm boogeyman
- Democrats have found a line of attack against the GOP. It’s a start. (“Democrats need a broader overarching narrative. The good news is they have one.”)
- ‘The world is on fire’: How vulnerable House Dems are bracing for GOP attacks on crime
- Democratic Party weighs banning its consultants from anti-union activity (“Democrats see Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s district as competitive but winnable in a tough midterm fight. She thinks addressing GOP attacks on crime head on is key to keeping it.”)
- Can The Democratic Party Define Itself?
- Why Do GOP Lawmakers Still Oppose Legalizing Weed?
- Uber driver turns in Jan. 6 rioter who bragged about Capitol attack on dashcam
- Oath Keepers and Proud Boys were in touch before US Capitol attack, texts reveal
- Democratic Dollars Flow Once Again to Likely Lost Causes (Donors need to be a LOT smarter about where they donate their money…)
- Ted Cruz Warns Disney Programming Will Soon Depict Mickey and Pluto F–king (Just remember, Glenn Youngkin is really tight with this lunatic.)
- DeSantis Won’t Let Disney Sit Out the Culture War (“The Florida governor’s move to punish Disney for its alleged ‘wokeness’ marks a major shift in GOP tactics.”)
- DeSantis saves Florida kids from being indoctrinated with math (Glenn Youngkin said he views DeSantis as a role model.)
- DeSantis proposes dissolving special tax status for Disney World
- Scoop: CNN+ looks doomed (“Warner Bros. Discovery has suspended all external marketing spend for CNN+ and has laid off CNN’s longtime chief financial officer as it weighs what to do with the subscription streaming service moving forward, five sources tell Axios.”)
- Elon Musk Races to Secure Financing for Twitter Bid
- Conservatives cheering on Elon Musk have been sold a bill of goods
- Doubling down at the Times (“In picking Joe Kahn, the Times’ managing editor, to replace Baquet, the newspaper is signaling that it has no plans to rethink its approach. Baquet and A.G. Sulzberger, the Times’ publisher, have consistently dismissed the idea that journalistic norms of objectivity should be tossed out. The view of the Times leadership is that journalism is more threatened by a lack of trust, which only deepens when readers sense that the paper has its thumb on the partisan scale.”)
- The real victims in the “Libs of TikTok” discourse are the teachers and LGBTQ people harassed because of the account (“Right-wing media melt down after a Washington Post report on Chaya Raichik, the person behind the influential anti-LGBTQ Libs of Tik Tok account”)
- Tucker Carlson says “Libs of Tik Tok” article is a “foreign intelligence operation” involving the German government and possibly the Biden administration (Hey Tucker, don’t you have some balls you need to be tanning? LOL)
- Netflix Shares Plummet As Service Loses 200K Subscribers (“It’s the first time that Netflix’s subscribers have fallen since the streaming service became available throughout most of the world six years ago.”)
- Mainstream TV news ignored the nation’s “most extreme” anti-trans law before it passed. Now they’re giving its supporters a friendly platform.
- Michigan State Senator Delivers Fiery Rebuke After Colleague Accuses Her Of ‘Grooming’ Kids (“Mallory McMorrow gave a moving speech on the Michigan Senate floor after a Republican cohort attacked her for her support of the LGBTQ community.”)
- Netflix Explores a Version With Ads as Subscriber Base Shrinks
- Vance parlays Trump endorsement into new Thiel money (Thiel is a fascist.)
- Utah senator has betrayed the Constitution and should no longer serve in public office
- Saturday’s Utah State Republican Convention would be a great place for Mike Lee to come clean, Editorial Board writes
- Tennessee GOP kicks Trump-backed Morgan Ortagus, Baxter Lee and Robby Starbuck out of primary
- Metro drops mask mandate after 700 days, and unease follows
- Parker blames key Democrats for botched campaign (“Leaked email details accusations over his campaign’s failure to meet required number of petitions.”)
- Parker blames others for his campaign’s collapse
- Video: “Republican delegates vote down @VAHouseDems’ proposal to give immediate [$50 gas rebate] relief to Virginia drivers only” (“This was a rubber stamping by Youngkin’s spineless puppets in the House of Delegates”)
- Here’s Some of the Bad Sh*t Ron DeSantis – About Whom Glenn Youngkin Said He “is where I look to lead as governor” – Has Been Up to Recently
- Opinion | Glenn Youngkin can’t stop stoking divisions in Virginia
- Federal Judge Gives AG Jason Miyares Six Days to File Final Reply to Paul Goldman in Case Arguing for VA House of Delegates Elections This Year
- Va. House Finance advances Youngkin bill to suspend gas tax
- Va. House committee advances Youngkin’s gas tax holiday, rejects $50 rebates
- Danny Plaugher column: Virginia shouldn’t repeat Maryland’s gas tax mistake
- Del. Nadarius Clark, Norfolk Councilwoman Andria McClellan Join Faith Leaders, Parishioners to Call for Climate Action to Address Coastal Flooding Threatening Hampton Roads Places of Worship (“Climate change is a far-reaching and multifaceted threat that demands a strong and comprehensive response”)
- Virulently Anti-LGBTQ VA Sen. Amanda Chase Attacks Her Main Republican Rival for Supposedly Voting to “allow Drag Queens to be hired as teachers in our public schools” (She also claims that the ERA would “enshrine abortion and gender fluidity into our Constitution”)
- Editorial: Suing for public access (“Transparency in government isn’t a cause limited to the press, nor is it the dominion of any party’s agenda.”)
- Virginia 10-Day New COVID-19 Cases Down 94% Compared to 1/19; Hospitalizations Down to 159 From ~4,000 in January
- Virginia Beach Featured in New Analysis of Solar Power Progress Across the Country (“Virginia shows leadership as solar energy grows nationwide”)
- Virginia will begin monitoring air pollution around Hampton Roads coal terminals
- Editorial: Painful history of race in Roanoke no longer will be hidden
- ‘These are serious allegations’: Virginia lawmakers weigh in on plans to lure Washington Commanders (“I think we need to have some deep investigative work done on our part before we move forward” Unless/until Snyder and his business are cleared of criminal activity and/or wrongdoing, no state should even THINK about giving him a penny in taxpayer-funded corporate welfare. Actually, nobody should EVER think of that, but certainly not unless/until he’s cleared of wrongdoing.)
- ‘She was always working behind the scenes.’ Dede Robertson, wife of religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, dies at 94
- D.C.-area forecast: Mostly dry as we gradually get back to spring warmth
